DAVID NEWCORN, SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR 1

CRADLE-TO-CRADLE: THE NEXT PACKAGING PARADIGM? AN ARCHITECT AND A CHEMIST MAKE A COMPELLING BUSINESS ARGUMENT FOR ECOLOGICALLY “INTELLIGENT” PACKAGING THAT’S ALSO GOOD FOR THE BOTTOM LINE.

How’s this for an environmental packaging strategy? • Use more packaging material, not less. • Instead of designing with the cheapest materials, design the best package possible, without worrying about per-package cost. • “Littering” can help the environment. Sound politically incorrect, and financially suicidal? Take a closer look. What if that ice cream wrapper lying on the side of the road were designed to “melt” into a biosafe liquid in a matter of hours at ambient tempera- tures? What if the foam food container was not only biodegradable, but incorporated essential nutrients to re- plenish the topsoil? What if there were such a thing as fifth-class postage that existed solely for the purpose of returning packag- ing to the manufacturer? Instead of buying the cheapest possible packaging, you buy the best possible packaging because you are getting most of it back. And guess which package looks better on the shelf as a result? Extreme? Yes. Possible? Only time will tell. Architect Bill McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart offer a new vision It’s all part of a new way of product and package de- for packaging and the environment. sign, called cradle-to-cradle design. By contrast, traditional cradle-to-grave design practi- performance, or a biological nutrient that can safely cally guarantees a product or package will end up as un- break down into the soil (see illustration, page 2). wanted waste that must be dealt with at some cost to the The originators of this concept, architect William end user. Plus, the manufacturer loses the economic val- McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart, recently ue of reusing the material, because it’s on a one-way trip published a book on the subject called Cradle to Cradle: out of the factory. Remaking the Way We Make Things. The authors’ design consultancy, McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry Technical and biological nutrients (MBDC), has worked with companies like Ford Motor Cradle-to-cradle design means literally designing Co., Nike, Herman Miller, and BASF to help redesign waste right out of the lifecycle of the package. their products using the cradle-to-cradle concept. Mimicking nature, a package is designed to be either a Though the authors have done a few packaging projects, technical nutrient that can be reused, or truly recycled in their design concept is essentially brand new—and a tight, closed-loop process with zero loss in material untested—in the field of packaging.

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However, packaging is an area that’s well suited to additives, you always end up with downcycling.” In oth- the cradle-to-cradle design concept, the authors say. er words, a park bench instead of a pop bottle. They contend that cradle-to-cradle design has the poten- Instead, package designers can still use the same ma- tial to expand, not reduce, the choices of materials avail- terials they’re using now, but positively select the ingre- able to package designers. They say packaging can be dients of that material for recyclability. That could mean designed to be an asset after use, rather than a liability, a 100% post-consumer-recycled (PCR) package that for customers. Finally, they argue that cradle-to-cradle looks and prints as good as new. “We have been testing packaging can cost the same or less than the packaging polymers that can be reused up to 90 times with the same it replaces. performance characteristics,” says Braungart. Instead of focusing on the moral argument, which tra- It’s not just about plastic—paper-based packaging can ditionally pits environmentalism against business inter- be designed this way too. “If you design inks in a way ests, the authors have made a compelling business argu- that you can wash them out, then you get white paper ment for ecologically “intelligent” products and packag- again,” says Braungart. ing that are also good for the bottom line. Or instead of becoming a technical nutrient, a pack- We asked the authors, in a series of exclusive interviews, to flesh out The traditional way: The cradle-to-cradle way: their vision for how cradle-to-cradle design might play out in packaging. eco-efficient packaging eco-effective packaging Minimize the amount of packaging Use as much packaging as is desired to No more ‘ugly’ packaging materials to reduce impact on protect and differentiate the product McDonough and Braungart frown environment. because that package will become a on what they term eco-efficient pack- biological or technical nutrient after its aging, with its traditional focus on first use. making packaging merely less dam- aging to the environment. For exam- Discourage littering because materials Discarded biodegradable ple, a bottle with recycled content is don’t break down for decades; and, if packaging that incorporates soil nutri- still headed on a one-way trip to a they do, toxic additives can enter the ents would actually benefit the environ- environment. ment, not harm it. landfill, unless a consumer happens to recycle it. Consumer is left with the liability of Consumer no longer has disposal liabili- Instead, the authors favor eco-effi- package disposal after product is ty because package will become a tech- cient packaging, which is designed at consumed. nical or biological nutrient after its first the outset to travel in either a biolog- use. Customer is left with a positive im- ical or technical closed loop. pression of the product and the manu- “For me, packaging is far too im- facturer. portant to make it merely efficient,” Recycled-content packaging can By positively selecting the right addi- says Braungart. In other words, the result in reduced performance and tives and inks, packaging can be cheap- trade-off associated with traditional attractiveness. er to recycle in a true, 100% closed- eco-efficient packaging—duller col- loop process with no loss in perform- ors and reduced performance charac- ance. teristics—is not only not worth it, it’s Recycling often requires consumers to Consumers pitch all recylables in a sin- unnecessary, Braungart maintains. distinguish among unfamiliar types of gle bin and biodegradables in another, What stands in the way of true materials, such as various types of plas- letting modern sortation technology do closed-loop recycling, according to tics. the work. Braungart, is not the materials them- selves—it’s often the additives and Deposits may be mandated by law. Packagers can create their own deposit inks, which were never designed or systems to recover expensive, desirable selected with closed-loop recyclabil- packages. ity in mind. The result is that “you Packaging materials must be as cheap Returnable packaging reduces or elimi- are highly limited in the next use of as possible, often leading to multilayer nates the need to create hybrids that that material,” says Braungart. “If composites or laminates that are diffi- don’t readily disassemble into technical you mix all these different types of cult or impossible to reuse or recycle. or biological nutrients.

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age can be designed to be a biological one. “As Book as information package: To illustrate the soon as you add more than 35% linear polyesters authors’ point, the book itself is made entirely to PET, the whole material becomes biodegrad- out of polypropylene, which can be melted able,” says Braungart. down to make another PP book. Today’s infor- “I’m saying we should design for reincarna- mation packaging (books) are what the au- tion,” says Braungart. “You plan the next use of thors call “monstrous hybrids” of paper, the material into the package already.” board, adhesives, cloth and other materials, which can only end up in a landfill. Reusability saves The notion of reusable packaging is a big poten- tial part of the cradle-to-cradle vision. “Today, Why did the beverage indus- packaging needs to be cheap, which limits the de- try move away from returnable signer’s possibilities,” says Braungart. Viewing packaging? Several reasons. packaging as a technical nutrient that can be reused One was the development of “means you can use far more valuable and expen- the recyclable aluminum can in sive materials,” he says. This hinges, of course, on 1962. Another was labor costs, the cost-effective recovery of those materials. particularly the teamsters who operated the trucks that William McDonough says some packaging, such as delivered product to the stores. Further, retailers didn’t for consumer electronics, is ripe for return, via, say, like committing valuable space to returned containers fifth-class postage. awaiting pickup, nor did they like the labor involved in “There’s no reason we can’t create it,” says McDon- making refunds. And bottling plants didn’t like the ough. “That can be our recycling system. We say to space, labor, and energy required for bottle sanitizing FedEx, UPS, the postal service, look, you guys have systems. In the end, it was cheaper for the industry to trucks moving around—they come full, they leave emp- switch to one-way packaging, which it did. ty. How about they come full, they leave full? What you So though the notion of returnable consumer packag- do is you just make it lowest priority. Nobody thinks ing is intriguing, there’s quite a history that would have about the positive aspects of low priority. Any postage to be overcome to make it a reality for most packagers. truck that’s driving around empty at end of day is subop- timal. You’re driving air around.” Recycling varies How to handle returnability for a package that’s been McDonough and Braungart’s notion of closed-loop contaminated by the product? “Procter & Gamble may biological and technical nutrient streams depends upon not be able to reuse that package,” acknowledges the existence of robust recycling and composting infra- McDonough, “but BASF could use that polymer. So it structures. But recycling is inherently a local issue—re- might list BASF’s return address instead of Procter & cycling infrastructures can vary widely from one munic- Gamble’s.” ipality to the next. Municipal composting is far from Adds Braungart: “You can give your customers a widespread, and returnable packaging infrastructures in choice. ‘Here’s the eco-efficient ugly, cheap package; this country are all but nonexistent, except in states with and here’s the nice package that you’d like to see in your bottle deposit bills. Finally, getting consumers to figure bathroom, but it’s so valuable that we’d like to have it out which type of material goes into which recycle bin is back.’” no easy task. Of course, returnable packaging has shown steady One municipality that seems to have hit on a viable growth over the last few years for industrial applications. recycling/composting collection infrastructure is San Manufacturers streamlining their supply chains find it’s Francisco, according to MBDC’s Joe Rinkevich. In that easier to coordinate closed-loop package use-and-return city’s Fantastic Three program, all recyclables go into systems when there’s only a handful of vendors or cus- one recycling bin, sparing residents the burden of sorta- tomers involved. tion. All organic waste such as food scraps goes into a But returnable consumer packaging is quite another second bin. Everything else goes into a third bin, whose story. Back in 1960, of course, 95% of soft drink con- contents are landfilled. Residents only pay for the waste tainers were refillable glass bottles. However, today, that they put in the third bin, thus creating a financial incen- number is less than half a percent, according to the tive to use the first two bins. Container Recycling Institute. Both authors contend great strides have been made in

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sortation technology. “In Europe, the green dot system one-way packaging. Or the raw ingredients, such as the has generated a lot of separation techniques,” says resin, of eco-effective packaging may cost more; but by Braungart, who is German. carefully selecting the additives in the material, the ma- Regulation has long been a way to force packagers terial could be cheaper to manufacture or recycle into a and their suppliers to take the environment into account package again, lowering or containing overall costs. when designing their packaging. Producer-responsibilty Braungart even suggests that eco-effective packaging laws on the books in Europe and elsewhere are a prime can increase brand loyalty, possibly reducing marketing example. When asked if he supports the creation of an costs. That is, a consumer who can return, recycle or eco-tax that subsidizes eco-effective packaging at the ex- compost a package now becomes a crucial part of the pense of noneco-effective packaging, McDonough cradle-to-cradle lifecycle, and is presumably won over replied, “It would certainly help. But I don’t think it’s es- by the brand’s lack of a disposal burden. “If your cus- sential. That’s a cultural question that will play itself out tomer becomes your partner, you don’t need to repeated- in the political arena.” ly convince him to use your product,” says Braungart. Indeed, in their book, McDonough and Braungart The authors contend that companies who have re- view regulation as a failure of design: “In a world where designed their products based on the cradle-to-cradle designs are unintelligent and destructive, regulations can concept have done so at the same or less cost. They ar- reduce immediate deleterious effects. But ultimately a gue packaging should be no different. regulation is a signal of design failure...good design can Too utopian? McDonough and Braungart are un- require no regulation at all.” apologetic. They freely admit the cradle-to-cradle design philosophy is not a magic bullet or even a solution. They Waste to energy see it as a roadmap for manufacturers to take their pack- If a package can be safely burned as fuel, that’s anoth- aging in a completely different direction. er way it can end up as a biological nutrient. Trouble is, “It’s going to take a while,” McDonough admits. “But most packaging was never designed for burning. Again, it doesn’t mean you can’t start down that path and put additives in the package, such as heavy metals in print- that forth as your vision. At least you have a vision in- ing inks, that are released during incineration require ex- stead of no vision. At least you have a strategy instead of pensive filtration technology that eats into the economic no strategy.” value of packaging as a fuel. In countries where packaging waste is burned for McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry fuel, Braungart says such packaging could be designed Phone: 434/295-1111 for clean burning. This can also be a financial benefit to, wwww.mbdc.com say, blow molders, who already find themselves manu- facturing bottles on razor-thin margins. Trimmings and scrap take on new value because “you can generate your own energy from the waste that you have without need- ing several filters” required for conventional packaging. Comes down to cost For most packaging users and suppliers—and con- sumers, for that matter—cost outweighs the environment as a purchasing factor. But the authors insist eco-effective packaging can be the same or cheaper compared to tradi- tional packaging. That’s one of the most important argu- ments in the cradle-to-cradle zeitgeist, yet it’s the hardest one to prove, because the idea is still so new. And it runs contrary to the industry’s experience with most new forms of, say, biodegradable packaging, which typically cost more, not less, than traditional materials. Some of the basic arguments run like this: Returnable packaging is much more expensive to initially buy, but a much lower quantity needs to be purchased compared to Originally published May 2003

WWW.PACKWORLD.COM DAVID NEWCORN, SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR 5

PACKAGERS REACT TO CRADLE-TO-CRADLE DESIGN PACKAGERS EXPRESS INTEREST IN CRADLE-TO-CRADLE DESIGN. IN JULY, AN INITIAL MEETING WILL BE HELD TO SEE IF A CROSS-INDUSTRY CRADLE-TO-CRADLE PACKAGING WORKGROUP SHOULD BE ORGANIZED.

A new book, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We coordinator for Unilever Bestfoods, based in the Make Things, by architect William McDonough and Netherlands. That company is embarking on a global chemist Michael Braungart, sets forth an entirely differ- sustainable packaging strategy that echoes the cradle-to- ent vision for environmentally effective products and cradle philosophy. packaging (see separate story, p. 62). To gauge the pack- “The thinking is very sound,” Houlder said, regarding aging field’s reaction to this new philosophy, we floated cradle-to-cradle. However, for food packaging, Houlder the cradle-to-cradle idea to several companies in a sur- has doubts about biodegradability. “The current biopoly- vey on Packworld.com. The vast majority personally mers that are out there don’t offer us the barrier proper- supported the idea of a cradle-to-cradle packaging initia- ties we need for our food products. If you’re going to tive at their companies (see chart). And half said their biodegrade something, you need it to be sensitive to company would be receptive to such an initiative. heat, moisture, oxygen, and probably light, and those are This research comes with two important caveats. the things we try to barrier our products against.” First, survey respondents read only a brief paragraph A representative from one leading supplier of summarizing the cradle-to-cradle concept, versus the au- biopolymers takes such constructive criticism in stride. thors’ entire book. Second, when it comes to packaging “No one polymer is perfect for every application,” ac- and the environment, there has always been a big differ- knowledges Michael O’Brien, communications manager ence between what people say in a survey and what they for Cargill Dow Polymers. Cargill Dow manufactures actually do in real life. NatureWorks™ PLA, a polymer derived from renewable Nevertheless, the findings are significant on two resources such as corn. “We focus on where it does counts. First, it’s often assumed by people outside the work—in our case, fresh prepared foods for grocery re- packaging field that people in the field do not care about tailers,” says O’Brien. “The barrier properties are suit- the environment because they are associated with the able for it. Grease- and aroma-resistance are our strong manufacture and use of packaging. That couldn’t be fur- performance benefits.” ther from the truth, a fact that is documented by the find- Unilever’s Houlder also points out that reusability ings of the survey. and returnability are obviously a problem for single-use Second, the research documents an awkward discon- food packaging. “Legislation prevents us from using re- nect between what packaging people want as individuals cycled materials in direct contact with food because of versus what their employers require for their businesses the risk of contamination. The only real technical cycle to run smoothly. Sound thinking Would you personally support We also interviewed a “cradle-to-cradle” packaging Would your company support some key packaging peo- initiative at your company? such an initiative? ple to get their reaction to the cradle-to-cradle con- 12% cept. A few who knew of No the concept reacted favor- ably when contacted for this report, but they could 50% 50% not obtain permission to Yes No speak to us on behalf of 88% their companies. Yes One person who is fa- miliar with the cradle-to- cradle concept is Graham Source: 111 respondents surveyed on Packworld.com Houlder, global packaging

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that would allow us to do that is, for example, the repoly- Aveda will investigate conducting a closure collection merization of PET.” program in a limited market test. For the moment, Unilever’s sustainable packaging ef- fort is focusing on paper. “For our cartons and shippers, Reusability can be tough we’re looking at how much fiber comes from forests that Alison Kent, manager of the global corporate packag- are being replanted, versus indigenous forests that are ing team at Hewlett-Packard, was reading the book at the not being replaced,” says Houlder. “We’d like to move time we went to press. “The case that [the authors] lay to a completely certifiable source for 100% of the pack- out seems very provocative,” she says. However, return- aging.” able packaging would nevertheless be challenging for Is Unilever willing to pay an upcharge for sustainable HP. “We change our products so frequently that there’s packaging? “That decision hasn’t been made yet,” says only a limited period when the packaging material Houlder. “But we’d be hard-pressed to see a reason why, would be relevant to reuse,” she says. particularly in the paper area, we should take on cost. In Regarding the argument that cradle-to-cradle can be the future, there should be plenty of sources of sustain- done at the same or lower cost, she responds, “In our able fiber.” own investigations to use more environmentally respon- sible materials and designs, it’s often at a cost. That’s al- Moving to the next level ways the trade-off.” But, Kent allows, “what we’ve been Another convert to the cradle-to-cradle concept is looking at is one slice of the whole system cost. So John Delfausse, vp of packaging at Minneapolis-based maybe if you look at it end to end, it can be less.” Aveda, a maker of upscale cosmetics and health and Although there are many obstacles to be overcome beauty products. before the cradle-to-cradle concept can be said to have “The whole concept makes an awful lot of sense,” caught on in the packaging arena, a growing number of says Delfausse. Aveda is already pushing post-con- packagers and suppliers are showing interest. That’s why sumer-recycled (PCR) content of its packaging to un- Cradle to Cradle authors McDonough and Braungart are precedented levels (see p. 74). But Delfausse says the hosting a one-day industry meeting in July, at which at- company is looking to move to the next level of sustain- tendees will receive an overview of the cradle-to-cradle able packaging. Closures could be a test case. Currently philosophy and will discuss whether to form a working all Aveda’s closures use virgin polypropylene resin. In group focusing on cradle-to-cradle package design. For an attempt to create a PCR PP closure, the company’s details, visit the link below. suppliers have been hampered by supply issues. “Based on the whole cradle-to-cradle concept, we re- GreenBlue alized we’ve got a tremendous source—all of our con- Phone: 434/817-1424 sumers. If we could actually ask our customers to return www.greenblue.org our caps, we’d have an unlimited source of PP that could go back into the same sort of caps.” Cargill Dow LLC Delfausse acknowledges there’s not currently an ef- Phone: 952/742-0400 fective infrastructure for returning closures, most of www.cargilldow.com which are PP. Many closures aren’t marked with the Society of the Plastics Industry’s chasing-arrows recy- cling coding; and, even if they were, PP is simply not re- cycled in any significant volume in this country. A solution might involve placing a collection bin in stores where its products are sold, or possibly examining some sort of deposit system similar to soft drinks, ac- cording to Delfausse. Still, Aveda would have to over- come history. The company tried to collect its packaging years ago, and “we got everybody’s garbage,” says Delfausse. Yet he remains undeterred. “What cradle-to-cradle re- ally does is get the industry to start thinking about what we need to do to collect these things,” he says. For now, Originally published May 2003

WWW.PACKWORLD.COM DAVID NEWCORN, SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR 7

CRADLE-TO-CRADLE CATCHES ON LEADING CONSUMER PRODUCTS COMPANIES AND MATERIALS SUPPLIERS INTEND TO FORM AN INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP TO TACKLE CRADLE-TO-CRADLE PACKAGE DESIGN.

In early July, some of today’s leading consumer Get retailers involved products companies and packaging suppliers walked Participants in the meeting learned more about the away from the first industry-wide meeting on cradle-to- principles of cradle-to-cradle design and heard a short cradle package design wanting more. More answers. but dynamic talk by architect William McDonough, who More collaboration. And more knowledge about the po- along with chemist Michael Braungart originated the tential benefits of cradle-to-cradle package design. cradle-to-cradle concept. The two wrote a book titled Cradle-to-cradle package design has the potential to Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. radically change the way packaging is designed and At the meeting, one of the most frequent themes consumed in this country and abroad. Modeled on na- among participants was the loss of control over their ture, where waste becomes fodder for growth, cradle-to- packaging that many manufacturers have experienced at cradle packaging is designed to make a full return or the hand of the large retail chains who now call the shots. reuse cycle. Today, nearly all packaging is designed “It’s the [retailers] who are dictating the most egre- only through the point of use by the end consumer. gious of our packaging designs,” said one packaging ex- Proponents of cradle-to-cradle packaging say potential ecutive who preferred to remain anonymous. “I’ve tried benefits include lower costs, a wider choice of materi- to ask them if we could have a different design that’s als, and packaging that adds value for end consumers. [more environmentally sustainable] and the answer is But packagers who’ve been exposed to the principles of ‘Sure, but we won’t sell it.’” (Because of the sensitive cradle-to-cradle design acknowledge there are many nature of some of the discussion at the meeting, most at- hurdles to overcome before cradle-to-cradle packaging tendees preferred to be quoted anonymously.) becomes a reality. Both packagers and suppliers at the meeting felt that One example of a cradle-to-cradle product cited at retailers must be educated on the principles of cradle-to- the meeting is Kodak’s single-use camera. Kodak, cradle design because they could potentially be a part of which controls the entire lifecycle of the cameras, in- a package-recovery solution. At the minimum, any pack- cluding recovery, keeps much of the content of this age-recovery solution needs to be a multi-company ef- product traveling in a continuous loop. As a result, they fort. It cannot be accomplished by any one company boast 86% recycled or reused materials, with some cam- alone, attendees agreed. era content back on the store shelf in as little as 30 days. Better, Kodak recovers the economic value of the mate- Designing for recovery rials, ostensibly reducing its raw materials costs. One big concern was the environmental and economic Cradle-to-cradle proponents say the same is possible viability of any package-recovery cycle. “At what point with packaging. does the impact of the recovery cycle outweigh the value Seven reasons to start a cradle-to-cradle packaging workgroup Participants in the July meeting identi- • Demand for more materials having packages that add value for con- fied at least seven reasons a cradle-to- a higher percentage of recycled sumers. cradle packaging workgroup would content can be increased, thus in- • The industry can learn more about have value to them: creasing the economic viability of the additives and chemicals used in • Distribution packaging, which has such materials. the manufacture of packaging mate- the potential to affect the greatest • Collection and recovery issues can rials and work together to substitute number of companies first, could be be addressed by a group in recogni- environmentally sustainable alterna- targeted for streamlining. tion of the fact that tackling the issue tives where appropriate. • Packagers can speak with a com- is beyond the means of any single • Being perceived as proactive about mon voice to counter mass merchan- company. sustainable packaging is better than disers who dictate environmentally • The cradle-to-cradle concept can be being reactive, especially in the eyes unsustainable package designs. leveraged to create new kinds of of consumers and regulatory bodies.

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of the materials themselves?” asked one participant. The question of economics, say the proponents of cra- dle-to-cradle, can be addressed at the design stage. One reason today’s packaging is often not economical to re- cover or recycle is because it was never designed for true closed-loop recovery or recycling. That’s according to Ken Alston of GreenBlue, which conducted and facilitat- ed the meeting. GreenBlue is a new non-profit founded to facilitate the adoption and implementation of the prin- ciples of cradle-to-cradle design. Alston also spent a number of years at S.C. Johnson, much of that time on environmental packaging issues. One attendee articulated it this way: “We have to start Bill McDonough spoke eloquently on cradle-to-cradle design. thinking [closer to the beginning of the design phase], instead of saying, ‘This is what we’re stuck with, now how do we recycle it?’” “The way the industry operates today is going to have However, achieving cradle-to-cradle packaging in- to change in many ways to capture the potential value of volves more than just the design phase, noted another the cradle-to-cradle concept. There are many key issues participant. At most companies, said this executive, the influencing effective implementation. For example, packaging people work on design issues, environmental more collaboration earlier in the product/package devel- affairs people work on collection issues, and end-market opment process will be required. An industry working development may even be the responsibility of a third group is something that’s very important to address the group. Often these groups don’t work together. Only an key issues. If it’s not tackled by a group like this, then I integrated approach that brings together expertise think we’ll continue on with the current approach and no around all three critical issue areas—design, collection, significant improvements will be made.” and end use—can lead to environmentally optimized packaging, the participant noted. GreenBlue, Phone: 434/817-1424 Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles for cradle-to-cra- www.greenblue.org dle packaging to overcome is the on-the-go lifestyle for which most value-added packaging is ultimately de- signed. “If you go to focus groups and ask people what Who attended they want, they want to save time,” said one attendee. “What is a replacement for time? Convenience. You gain More than 30 people attended the cradle-to-cradle meeting held July time by buying disposable products because you don’t 11 in Charlottesville, VA. The meeting was co-hosted by MBDC (the have to clean them. Convenience is what’s driving the consulting firm of William McDonough and Michael Braungart, origi- purchasing cycles of consumers.” Meshing consumer nators of the cradle-to-cradle concept) and the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, which provided the meeting facilities. The convenience with the cradle-to-cradle design philosophy event was conducted and facilitated by GreenBlue, a new nonprofit will be challenging, the group acknowledged. founded to facilitate the adoption and implementation of the principles of cradle-to-cradle design. Next steps Below is a list of companies and other interested parties represented The cradle-to-cradle design concept clearly engaged at the meeting: the participants. The consensus at the meeting was to PACKAGERS proceed with the formation of an industry working Aveda, Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, Nike, PepsiCo, Starbucks Coffee group. At press time, it appeared the next meeting will Co. likely be held at Pack Expo Las Vegas. Details can be SUPPLIERS obtained by contacting GreenBlue. Alcoa, Dow Chemical, DuPont Packaging, Klöckner Pentaplast, No one is under any illusions that moving toward cra- MeadWestvaco, Printpack, R.S.V.P., Inc. dle-to-cradle packaging will be easy. That was best cap- GOVERNMENT AND TRADE GROUPS tured in the comments of Bob Giangiorgi, recently re- Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, U.S. EPA, Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program, U.S. EPA, Office of tired from Sonoco, and also on the board of the Clemson Solid Waste, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Office of Environmental Policy University Packaging Science program. and Compliance

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SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING COALITION A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY WORKING GROUP THAT FORMED TO BRING THE CRADLE-TO-CRADLE VISION TO PACKAGING

In Spring 2003, cradle-to-cradle principles began The organization’s mission is to 1) advocate and com- drawing attention in the packaging industry with a municate a positive, robust environmental vision for Packaging World cover story (May 2003) and an EPA- packaging and 2) leverage innovative, functional pack- sponsored Cradle to Cradle Design Challenge focused aging materials and systems that support economic and on e-commerce shipping packaging and logistics. Seeing environmental health. an opportunity for the industry to build on this attention, The goals of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition are to: David Newcorn, author of the Packaging World cover • Educate packaging stakeholders and participants in article, suggested holding a meeting to invite members the Coalition, through conferences, seminars, and publi- of the packaging industry to consider forming a working cations about cradle-to-cradle principles for packaging. group around cradle-to-cradle concepts. • Bridge the communication gap in the packaging val- GreenBlue, the newly formed non-profit organization ue chain to facilitate the development of sustainable dedicated to promoting and developing cradle-to-cradle packaging solutions. principles and methods, organized a workshop and meet- • Support the development of recycling and compost- ing held in July 2003, hosted by the Darden Graduate ing infrastructures for safe, healthy materials that have School of Business Administration at the University of the potential to perpetually cycle in a manner that is eco- Virginia and sponsored by McDonough Braungart nomically viable. Design Chemistry. The first meeting revealed significant • Increase demand for environmentally intelligent, interest among the attendees from throughout the pack- cradle-to-cradle materials to reduce cost and ensure aging value chain, and a follow-up meeting was held in quality and availability. November 2003 to adopt a mission and develop strategy and organizational structure for an industry working PROJECTS group. Founding members include: Cargill Dow; Dow Sustainable Packaging Definition Chemical Company; Estee Lauder/Aveda; EvCo Research; The definition project will build on the cradle-to-cra- MeadWestvaco; Nike; Starbucks Coffee Company; dle vision to create a common framework for the pack- Tropicana; and Unilever. aging industry that facilitates the design and develop- ment of sustainable packaging and systems. In addition, VISION, MISSION, AND GOALS the definition will create shared values among group The Sustainable Packaging Coalition envisions pack- members from which to select future projects and can be aging designs and systems rooted in cradle-to-cradle used to educate the packaging industry about the activi- principles. Packaging that does not need to be minimized ties of the coalition. because of negative environmental impact but can be The definition will be based on the EPA’s Cradle to celebrated because it provides positive benefits to socie- Cradle E-commerce Shipping Packaging Design Challenge ty and the environment throughout its life cycle. Guidance Document and GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging that complements products’ and companies’ Product Criteria. It will provide principles for designing pursuit of sustainability. sustainable packaging using bio-based and synthetic ma- A sustainable, cradle-to-cradle package achieves ex- terials; will be international in scope; and will reference cellence by a variety of measures: meets performance international environmental packaging legislation and and cost criteria; productively circulates either in na- best practice. Short-term and long-term considerations ture’s healthy biological cycles or in safe industrial cy- specific to packaging material types (bio-based, synthet- cles of production, use, and recycling; is manufactured, ic plastic, metals, glass) will be discussed. As part of the transported, and recycled using renewable energy; and project, the definition will be peer-reviewed by NGOs provides positive benefits to individuals and communi- and other packaging stakeholders TBD. ties throughout its life cycle. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition is a working Intelligent Materials Pooling group of packaging professionals, ranging from paper Intelligent Materials Pooling is a collaborative, busi- and resin manufacturers to consumer product companies. ness-to-business approach to managing materials in

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closed loops. Partners in an intelligent materials pool agree to share access to a mutually important material to generate a healthy system of closed loop material flows. The Coalition will develop intelligent materials pool- ing strategies for a bio-based and a synthetic packaging material that could potentially be optimized (either by material (re)formulation or through life cycle design) to facilitate the cradle-to-cradle cycling of these materials, with the added benefits of reducing costs and ensuring quality and availability. Participants will begin by pool- ing information regarding performance criteria, environ- mental concerns associated with the cycling of the mate- rials, and the material’s ideal life cycle. Strategies will then be developed for the two materials. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The Sustainable Packaging Coalition is a project of GreenBlue, a non-profit, 501c3 tax-exempt organization created to provide the theoretical, technical, and infor- mation tools required to transform industry into an eco- nomically profitable, ecologically regenerative and so- cially empowering activity through intelligent design. (www.sustainablepackaging.org) GreenBlue provides leadership, research, and coordi- nation services for the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. Through teleconferences and meetings, Coalition mem- bers advise GreenBlue on project direction and industry needs. MEMBERSHIP Membership is open to any company that manufac- tures, sells, or uses packaging materials as part of its business operations and to any non-governmental organ- ization or government agency with a demonstrated inter- est in the manufacture, sale, or use of packaging. Click here for a membership application.

To become involved, please visit the Sustainable Packaging Coalition's Web site: http://www.sustainablepackaging.org/about.htm

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